Date Printed: 06/16/2009 JTS Box Number: lFES 77 Tab Number: 65 Document Title: A Non Partisan Guide to Voting Document Date: Jan-96 Document Country: United States Washinqton Document Language: English lFES ID: CE02646 \I E * UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY Word ASSOCIATIONS Advancing the independence, productivity. and full citiznllhip ofpeople with disabilities from Washington A NONPARTISAN GUIDE TO VOTING FULL C/TIZE.N SH I P ~ January 1996 SPECIAL ISSUE ON VOTING CONTENTS Democracy In Action: Getting Out the Vote.............................................................................................................. pg 2 1996 Congressional Primary Dates .............................................................................................................................. pg 4 Why Non-Profit Disability SeIVices Agencies Should Register Their Customers To Vote ..................................... pg 5 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA): What NVRA Says About Nonprofits and Update................................ pg 6 Disability Community and Presidential Voting.......................................................................................................... pg 8 How to Increase Voter Registration ............................................................................................................................ pg 9 Different Deadlines by State for Registering to Vote ................................................................................................ pg 10 Basic Information for a Registration Brochure.......................................................................................................... pg 11 Fun Activity to Educate About the Democratic Process ........................................................................................ ;... pg 11 Nonprofits Can Make Voter Registration Easy ........................................................................................................... pg 12 Five Easy Action Steps for a Volunteer Voter Registration Drive ............................................................................. pg 13 Action Plan for Advocacy Committees to Increase Participation in the Election Process .................................... pg 14 Simple Solutions by Disability SeIVices Organizations .............................................................................................. pg 14 Rewarding Voter Registrants ........................................................................................................................................ pg 15 On Duplicate Voter Registration ................................................................................................................................. pg 15 Rules of the Road To Stay Nonpartisan for Nonprofits ............................................................................................ pg 16 What One Individual Can Do ...................................................................................................................................... pg 17 Techniques to Access the Disability Vote For Candidates ........................................................................................ pg 18 Disability Litmus Tests: How to Assess the Candidates ............................................................................................ pg 18 Absentee Voting ............................................................................................................................................................ pg 19 Federal Election Commission (FEC) Information .................................................................................................... pg 20 Texas Election Officer Discriminated Against Blind Persons................................................................................... pg 21 Action Steps When Faced With Barriers At Local Polling Places ............................................................................ J>i21 Summary of Title II ADA (State & Local Govt. SeIVices) ......................................................................................... pg 22 Common Distortion Tactics Used in Campaigns ...................................................................................................... pg 22 State Governors. their Party. Address. Phone Number and Terms of Office ................................................... pg 21-25 Chief Election Officers by State. ............. ................................................................................. .................................... pg 26 WORD FROM WASHINGTON Getting Out the Vote DEMOCRACY IN ACTION: GETTING PEOPLE ~(@ :m~:TT~: ~:.~"~::~:~: 1'.. ::S::: ever more important. 49 million Americans medical equipment and other services suppliers. and with disabilities. their families and friends are others - understand the power of the ballot box when waking up to a new political reality of budget cuts and it comes to disability issues. block grants. These are significant political changes and will result in transfonnation of social services To accomplish this means knowing: delivery at the local level. o how easy it is to vote; The 1996 Presidential election commands passion o how to organize voter registration; and headlines. But as power decentralizes or devolves o how easy it is to get involved in the political process; from Washington in the form of more block grants to o how to playa key role inlluencing state infrastructures states, it is clear that local officials will exercise more by bringing in persons with disabilities and their power and control over the everyday lives of all citizens, families as community friends in local and state elec- and especially people with disabilities. tion processes. From the state governor to town and county welfare officials, the power of other people's money- As an advocoJe, you can create a State Fact Sbeet. By that is taxes collected and disbursed as pub- taking all the information from the tables and charts lic spending - will become restructured that pertains to your state, from the table on Page 10, in new ways. This is both a crisis for the S-. • Different Deadlines Uy State for Registering to Vote,· from disability community, as the amount of - ,', the table "State Governm-s, their Addresses, Affiliation and money will shrink, and an opportunity to • " • Terms of Offici' (Page 23) or from the table "Congres­ inlluence developing infrastructures for sional Primary Dates.· Combining this information on the common good of every child and adult with one page provides critical information to persons with a disability across the age span. disabilities and their families. ¢ Local, county and state elected representatives will The State Fact Sheet couId be combined with a flyer control more of the taxpayers' money and will that includes a particular state's Mail In Voter receive less direction in the form of federal man· RegistratUm Form obtained from the chief state election dates and in the name of state flexibility. office found in the listing on Page 27. o State legislatures and administrations will have much greater power as they will be setting the rules and designing the programs. IFIIVE ~ AmO~ $1i"IEIP'S ¢ Local bureaucrats will be contracting for services !FOR PI. ~OnR RIE((ijU~'1i1IO~ ~R!I'lfIE and can be held responsible by elected officials. o To know who these officials are and to hold them on Page 13 accountable for responsive and responsible policies to persans with disabilities and their familia is empowerment. Including information on how a representative voted will help educate persons with disabilities and their The disability community knows it cannot associates about how elected officials stand on various afford to be 'a sleeping giant' during the next issues. As a nonpartisan agency or advocate, you do not 12 months and must exercise its rights or lose have to agree or disagree with the stand. Just getting the them. Congressional primaries and state and facts out speaks volumes about how elected officials local elections occur in every state in 1996. consider the interests of persons with disabilities. The community of persons with disabilities For instance, your state legislature's Ways & Means must do its part to ensure decisions are made subcommittee may have voted very favorably or very that reflect advancing their independence. negatively on a certain disability-5pecific item or on a Voting is a fundamental constitutional right and a key civil rights issue. Also, a particular statement or let­ responsibility as a citizen! ter may be informative. Publishing these votes and This Word From Washington is to be used in many ways statements within the state are a public service to per­ to ensure that the community of persons with disabili­ sons with disabilities and their fumily members because ties - their family members, their advocates, staff at it lets them know where their local representative nonprofit disability and other human services orgarti· stands on an issue. 2· JANUARY 1996 WORD FROM WASHINGTON Cdting Out the Vote Tips on organlzmg voter registration drives are instance, Jim Tuscher, an alert disability advocate in found on Pages 11 through 19 and show how easy this Missouri, heard about a candidate for state representa­ can be. More than 40% of the disability community is tive losing by five votes because the absentee ballots of now registered to vote. It is essential that the rest get twenty-four persons with disabilities were not going to on board! be